TODAY'S NEWS

Book Comps Up at Hastings In Tough Period
by Jim Milliot
Book sales held up fairly well at Hastings Entertainment for the third quarter ended October 31, even has revenue for the retailer fell 6.5%, to $114.3 million. The company posted a $3.6 million loss for the period, compared to net income of $73,000 in last year’s third quarter. Comparable sales of books increased 1.0% in the period, although the results were mixed for publishers as Hastings said the gain was led by sales of used trade paperback and hardcovers, plus new trade paperbacks. Read on »

PubWest Attendees Urged to Prepare for Either/And World
by Jordan Foster
Even in the current economic slump, the independent publishers and trade professionals who flocked to the Publishers Association of the West’s annual conference and trade show in Portland, Ore. were eager to brainstorm ways to keep the book a valued commodity. Building on the success of 2007’s show, “Digital World,” this year’s conference, held November 13-15, focused not only on the impact of devices such as Amazon’s Kindle and the Sony E-Reader, but on new digital printing technologies and the increased need for environmentally-aware business practices in the publishing world.

Friday kicked off with an opening talk by Ingram Book Group chairman John Ingram entitled “Not My Father’s Ingram.” Touting the company’s print-on-demand and digital services, John Ingram emphasized that we live in an “Either/And” world, not an “Either/Or” world. Instead of choosing between printed books or e-books, publishers can and should focus on both, especially since, as Ingram pointed out, consumers’ expectations are rising. In this new “Either/And” world, Ingram urged the audience to make the most out of all the resources available, from traditional printed books to digitized files and print demand to downloadable e-books. He earned a round of applause when he promised the audience that in the new “Either/And” world they could be selling more. Read on »

Holiday Hours for Wholesalers 2009
by Kevin Howell
As if a downbeat economy wasn't enough, Black Friday—that marks the traditional beginning of the holiday season—falls on Nov. 28, so customers will only have four weekends of shopping before Christmas. Since most booksellers will be ordering cautiously this year, it pays to know alternative wholesalers and distributors to get those books fast. PW’s annual guide to the extended hours of some popular wholesalers and distributors should help. Read on »

Job Moves
Random House has named Gaurav Shrinagesh managing director of Random House India. Shrinagesh, who's held a number of executive roles at the company, has been at Bertelsmann since 1999 when he was recruited through the Bertelsmann Entrepreneurs Programme, which the publisher dubs "a hothouse scheme" that brings in only eight candidates a year. Shrinagesh was most recently managing director of DHSK, a Hong Kong-based part of the Bertelsmann AG Direct Group.

At Promeus Books, in Amherst, NY, Julia DeGraf has been named assistant editor; DeGraf, who will be based out of Skokie, Ill., is a longtime freelancer with the press. Assistant editor Joe Gramlich has relocated to St. Louis, Miss. Louis J. Battaglia has joined the staff as assistant editor and Catherine Roberts-Abel has come on board as editorial assistant and permissions editor.

Web Exclusive Reviews
A stunning index of Indian wildlife, the man who gave birth, country music's Southern roots, a cookbook celebration of Paris's ethnic diversity, and a Booker Prize finalist. Plus: Lana Turner's daughter, a third McCourt brother, and more. Read on »

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The PW Morning Report
Polling Expert Nate Silver in Two Book Deal; Joe the Plumber Gets Book Deal; Edward Sheehan Dead; Peter J. Levinson Dead; Miguel Syjuco Wins 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize; Thomas Keneally on the Making of Schindler; Novelists Ponder Black President; Pound Letters to the Harry Ransom Center; Growing Up in the White House with FDR; and Early Shakespeare Texts Pledged to Globe Theatre Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Outliers; Dewey; transgender dad Thomas Beatie
Authors on tonight’s Colbert Report: Malcolm Gladwell, whose Outliers: The Story of Success (Little, Brown, 978-0316017923, $27.99; Hachette Audio unabridged CD, $39.98) pubs today. (Tomorrow, he’s on All Things Considered.) Also on Colbert: Tom Brokaw, author of Boom! Talking About the Sixties: What Happened, How It Shaped Today, Lessons for Tomorrow (Random House 978-0812975116, $18; RH Audio CD, $29.95). Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Saluting Esther
Esther Margolis, founder of Newmarket Press, was honored last week as the 2008 winner of the New York Center for Independent Publishing's Poor Richard Award, presented annually for an individual's contribution to independent publishing. More than 100 of her colleagues turned out to salute Margolis, who was cited for her innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in building Newmarket into a successful indie house. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

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